Morning Edition

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Waking up is hard to do, but it's easier with NPR's Morning Edition. Hosts Renée Montagne and Steve Inskeep present the day's stories and news to radio listeners on the go. While they are out traveling, David Greene can be heard as regular substitute host. Matt McCleskey and the WAMU news team bring the latest news from the Washington Metro area. Jerry Edwards keeps an eye on the daily commute. Morning Edition provides news in context, airs thoughtful ideas and commentary, and reviews important new music, books, and events in the arts. All with voices and sounds that invite listeners to experience the stories.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Police in the Canadian province of Quebec say the death toll following Saturday's massive train explosion will likely rise to 50. The news is another painful blow to local residents reeling from a blast that flattened the heart of their small rural town. Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio reports.

Renee Montagne talks with former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell about recent school attacks in Nigeria and the group believed to be behind them, Boko Haram. Campbell is Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Around the world, cities like Rio de Janeiro are using new technologies to solve their problems. And while there's great promise in many of these "smart" city programs, urban planner Anthony Townsend is wary of putting so much power in the hands of tech companies.

Over the strong objections of Wal-Mart, the City Council in Washington D.C. has approved a bill that would require some large retailers to pay workers a minimum of $12.50 an hour. The city's minimum wage is $8.25. Wal-Mart has threatened to scrap plans to open three stores in the city if the measure is signed by the mayor and becomes law. Patrick Madden of member station WAMU reports.

Before national protests in Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff looked like she was guaranteed victory in next year's elections. Now, her popularity has plummeted and polls show she would face a run-off against Marina Silva, who grew up the daughter of a poor rubber tapper in the Amazon.

Morning Edition host Renee Montagne speaks with NPR music critic Ann Powers about singer Robin Thicke, who spent a decade recording smooth, sexy R&B before hitting the top of the pop charts with his current single, "Blurred Lines."

House Speaker John Boehner convened a closed-door meeting of his Republican caucus Wednesday to figure out how his chamber can deal with the immigration issue. The Senate has already passed an overhaul that many conservatives find unacceptable because it gives 11 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

It's been 50 years since Nelson Mandela's journals and incriminating papers were seized by South African police. Mandela was already under arrest, and those writings arguably sealed his conviction in court, and nearly got him the death penalty. But it also marked his place as one of the key political anti-apartheid thinkers and writers.

In Egypt, many are hopeful that with the Islamist president out of power, stability will return — and so will foreign investment. Already, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are pumping billions into Egypt now that the Muslim Brotherhood is no longer in power. And miraculously, the fuel shortages and power cuts that were plaguing the nation seem to be gone.

Tired of your commute to work? Imagine if on the way to your job you had to dodge sniper fire. That's the case for many people in Syria. David Greene talks to Anthony Loyd, a correspondent for the Times of London, who just spent time in Allepo, Syria.

Smithfield CEO Larry Pope tried to reassure lawmakers that the sale of his Virginia based company will not mean a transfer of jobs to China or a reduction in food safety. He appeared before lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.

A break-in at the store had Australian police stumped. There was a hole in the ceiling and smashed merchandise but nothing was missing. The next day the intruder was found still inside the store. The python was 19 feet long and weighed 37 pounds.

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